From meeting rooms to wave foam

Unn Haukenes Holgersen surfing off Lofoten in the middle of winter. Photo: Nok Sandholm

Unn Haukenes Holgersen is not like Researchers The former elite basketball player is one of Norway's best surfers.

Unstad, Lofoten: Not even sub-zero temperatures stop them. The wetsuit is forced on, the board is lifted down from the car roof. Soon they are in the water, in the sea, the polar cold sea on the outside of Vestvågøya. When the right wave appears, they strike. With quick, habitual movements they mount the board, find their balance and follow the wave all the way inland towards the snow-covered beach. Their feet get so cold that they lose feeling, but the experience is too great to miss, the nature, the silence, the waves.  

One of the surfers is called Unn. She has podium finishes from the Norwegian National Surfing Championships. She is also a trained veterinarian and researcher at Nordland Research Institute The fact that Unn is so far north, wearing a wetsuit and with a surfboard as a companion, will probably surprise some basketball-interested Bergen residents, as basketball was Unn Haukenes Holgersen's focus when he was growing up.

Basketball City Bergen

In the early 2000s, basketball fever was ravaging Norway and Bergen was the basketball capital. The games were broadcast on TV2, spectators flocked to the hall and everyone played basketball. Unn was not tall, but good with the ball.

– I was a point guard, a position that requires overview and good ball control. It suited me well, since I liked to dribble and shoot. Point guard is a position that is perhaps equivalent to midfield in soccer. I set up systems and organized the game, she says.  

– Until I was 18, I played actively on Gimle's elite team. We won the elite series several times and also participated in the Danish elite series for one season.

For an elite basketball player, the sun is a rare sight. Afternoons and weekends were spent in the halls. Unn heard about players who had received college scholarships. Playing basketball in the United States while paying for her education? Unn liked the idea and started checking out colleges to apply to.

Then came the fatal Russian trip to Stavanger.

Surf's Up

A group of climbing friends on a Russian trip. Someone suggests a surfing course in Stavanger. A fun idea. A creative idea. But for Unn Haukenes Holgersen, the course was life-changing.

– I was hooked. I realized that I didn't want to just see the inside of a hall for the rest of my life. I wanted to spend more time outdoors, preferably by the ocean and in the waves, says Unn. 

– I grew up in a cabin in the archipelago. My parents regularly took us fishing, sea kayaking and activities in the archipelago, so the sea has always been close to my heart. 

So basketball was replaced with activities in the mountains and the sea. “It gave me energy and meaning,” says Unn. 

The college scholarship was forgotten. Now it was the waves that mattered. Unn moved to Stavanger to work at a kayak and surf shop, and – first and foremost – learn to surf.

The Boobsquad

There weren't many girls surfing in Jæren at that time. They found each other in a fairly testosterone-filled environment. The surfers called themselves "Bombsquad". As a small counter to the guys who occasionally dominated the lineup, the surf girl gang took the name "Boobsquad".

– We were the first generation of female surfers on Jæren and there weren't many of us, so we stuck together. It was a small environment that was really nice to be a part of, says Unn.

For six years, the former basketball player worked, studied and surfed in Stavanger. Somewhere along the way, she met the guy she's still with, in the waves of course. They saved up money and traveled the world with their surfboards in tow.

After a few years of working and trying out different fields of study, including oceanography and sports studies, Unn had to figure out what she wanted to be when she grew up. The profession of her two doctor parents didn't appeal to her. She needed to study something that caught her interest. Maybe in a place surrounded by waves?

Unn doesn't speak Spanish.

According to the loan fund, Unn was the first Norwegian student ever at the Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC). She didn't speak Spanish. The six-year veterinary study seemed to be tough. 

– I took one day at a time and focused more on the journey than the destination, she says. 

Unn prepared well for each lecture and took extensive notes, which she later translated. After two long years, her Spanish began to sink in. 

– I suddenly realized that I could just relax during the lectures and take in the information, without having to concentrate on translating all the time, she says.

– When I submitted my master's thesis, a professor who had seen me struggle in the first few weeks told me that he never thought I would last more than two months. 

But Unn held on. And the sea became an increasingly important part of life, not only because of surfing, but also very large animals.  

On whale watch

The Faculty of Unn studied at the site, conducted research on whales, and had its own watchdog program for stranded whales. Students could join in. 

– The teams took turns being whale watchers. When reports of stranded animals came in, our teachers coordinated the efforts together with an experienced team of Researchers and volunteers. Samples were taken in the field, where the whales were, but sometimes the carcasses were transported to the university, both dolphins, beaked whales and pilot whales, Unn says. 

Here, the students were able to participate in necropsies, or autopsy, of dead animals. Using various samples, an interdisciplinary team of veterinarians, marine biologists, and oceanographers attempted to find out what had killed the whales. Often, the responsibility lay with human activity. 

– On several occasions we found signs that the whales had become entangled in fishing gear or had plastic in their stomachs. Collisions and noise pollution were also among the causal relationships that were investigated. It was not uncommon for the whales to collide with ferries and other vessels, for example, says Unn. 

Brain tissue under a microscope

The Norwegian veterinary student was fascinated by the necropsies. She decided to write her master's thesis on the pigment neuromelanin, which is found in the brains of both whales and humans. 

– The pigment protects the brain from dangerous substances, but accumulates over time and at some point it can leak into the brain and cause damage. In humans, this process is associated with the development of Parkinson's disease, among other things, says Unn. 

– I tried to detect the pigment in the parts of the whale's brain that produce dopamine and noradrenaline, and describe what was happening in the surrounding tissues, she says.  

Surfing paradise in the north

After countless hours of studying whale brain tissue under a microscope, the task was completed and the goal achieved. Unn had managed to become a veterinarian, in Spanish. In addition, she had managed to come in third place in the student surfing championship in the Canary Islands, Trofeo Rector de surf. Now it was time to head north. Far north.

– In 2008 we went on a surfing holiday in Unstad. It was fantastic and we hardly saw any other people. To us, Lofoten seemed like an untouched paradise, says Unn. 

So the couple moved to what is called the world's most beautiful archipelago. There they didn't get to have the waves to themselves for very long. Now Unstad has become a famous surfing location, attracting tourists from all over the world. 

– Yes, the increased tourism has its disadvantages, but we still enjoy it here, says Unn. 

– You have to adapt, but at the same time fight for what matters. There are many committed souls here, and that rubs off on the local community, which has a great commitment to preserving nature in Lofoten.

Looked up from the microscope

After a short period at a small animal clinic and a few interesting years at the Center for Marine Litter (now the Norwegian Environment Agency), Unn felt called to academia. She applied for a job in Nordland Research Institute and got it. 

“I am really looking forward to using my background in social science research. Social science expertise is often forgotten in natural science projects,” says Unn. 

– At the same time, social science is often the core of a better understanding of both the essence and scope of natural science issues, it goes hand in hand, you simply have to lift your gaze from the microscope, says the relatively new researcher. 

Children in the waves

And what about surfing? After a couple of maternity leaves, Unn is back in the waves. She has even competed in the European Surfing Championships in France and was invited to the World Championships in Puerto Rico in 2024.

– That's right, those who surf are asked. Maybe a little unceremonious, this national team recruitment, but that's why it's extra fun, says Unn. 

– Unfortunately, I didn't get to participate in the World Cup this time, but I'll definitely join if I get the chance again. I can't give up yet, she says. 

Surfing will be there anyway. A new and fun project is the training of the next generation of skaters and surfers through Vågal Brettklubb in Kabelvåg, where Unn sits on the board with her husband and several friends.

– A fairly large surfing community has gradually developed in Lofoten. Many of us have had children at the same time, so we meet at the skate park, snowboard or go out into the waves with the children. They learn to be in the water with friends and have a great time, which is great, says Unn.

The next generation of surfers is thus on the way. 

– Last year we got my son on the surfboard for the first time. He was three years old, it was a mixture of terror and joy and big smiles!